LITT: Academic Libraries

Topic: building relationships with faculty, finding library champions

• Focus on building relationships with faculty, getting to know them as people first without mentioning library services.
  • Joining faculty committees can be a great way to build relationships.
  • Approach conversations with faculty with a “just listening” mindset, avoid jumping to solutions.
  • Some departments don’t need or use the library as much as others, and that’s okay, but there may be other ways to connect with them – like social events, lectures, workshops, etc.
  • Sit in on department meetings to build relationships. The value is in being present, getting to know the faculty members.
• One positive collaboration with a faculty member can be a launching point for future connections – ask them to provide a testimonial that can speak to your value, or ask them for advice on how to approach other faculty for future collaborations.
• Who are the library champions? These folks spread the word about the library, creating a network of support.
  • ILL super users
  • Faculty who regularly make purchase requests and bring their students to the library
  • Faculty who use the library’s board game collection in classes, host board game events in the library
  • Faculty who push the snack cart around the library during dead week
• Ideas:
  • Make a zine to share information about the library – there’s novelty in this new format and is more likely to be kept as a handy resource than an email. (Example zine provided by ISU-Idaho Falls Librarian Aeryle Kuehn is attached)
  • Make the library a faculty common space.
  • Host a faculty meetup at the library.
  • Have library swag to distribute – those bearing gifts are often better received.
  • Create a monthly reading challenge with faculty, with prizes for those that complete it.
  • Host a themed book club – participants select a book related to a provided theme or category.
  • Use a whiteboard to collect faculty recommended reads.
  • Host regular library trivia events at the library with handmade trophies for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place
  • Participate in new faculty orientation.
• Existing models of connecting with faculty
  • Some academic libraries use a subject/department liaison model. This can be challenging as subjects, departments, and majors get reorganized, created, or merged.
  • Others also have functional liaisons, who focus on providing specialized assistance to faculty (such as with databases, citation management, GIS, etc.) – these liaisons can have a stronger relationship with faculty with better long-term relationships because the practical need creates an easier way to connect.
  • Another library is interested in a personal librarian model – focused on students with unique needs and backgrounds, providing relational support rather than transactional support. The University of Wyoming had success using this model in part because they have a large transfer student population.
• Success story:
  • The College of Southern Idaho Library had many unused periodicals and magazines, and those have now been outsourced to reside in related departments. Library staff deliver new issues of the magazines as they come in, allowing for more socializing outside of the library and relationship building with faculty. This initiative has been very popular, leading to requests for new titles to add to the periodical collection, and interest in the magazines spreading by word of mouth. Although there are no circ stats for these magazines, anecdotal and observational evidence shows a dramatic increase in their use now that they are outside of the library.